Students of color felt accepted
more individually than they
believe minority students as a
whole are accepted.
Overall, the data from the
study indicated that social
identity is the largest factor
in minority students’ sense of
“not belonging” to the Univer-
sity community.
Soderstrom and her team are
hopeful that those who attend-
ed the event were inspired to be
more aware of how social iden-
tity can impact University life.
“Our
research
questions
were
around
just
thinking
about
how
social
identity
impacts
undergraduate
stu-
dent experiences,” Cohen said.
“So if students left being more
cognizant of that, if faculty
left thinking about when orga-
nizing or structuring their
classrooms, and engage the
community around them, that’s
a good thing.”
Soderstrom said she hopes
sharing the results of the study
prompts future discussions of
social identity and inclusion.
“We
have
representation
from a lot of different groups
on campus that can impact
different spaces on campus,”
she said. “We hope that this
prompts future conversations
about things we can proac-
tively do and take control over,
and how to structurally engage
some of those spaces.
Soderstrom said she is hope-
ful the findings of the research
project will be published for
the University community in
the near future.
Bradley
Taylor,
associate
director of the Museum Stud-
ies Program and member of the
project’s Board of Directors,
said that despite destruction
to some of the artwork, what
remains is not to be discredited.
“There’s a belief out there
that the fires have brought the
Heidelberg Project to an end,”
Taylor said. “That’s not true at
all. If you’ve been out there the
site’s been cleaned up and (Guy-
ton) is already out there creating
new stuff in the foundations of
the buildings that were burned
down.”
Whitfield said the fire dam-
age is no longer visible, which
surprises people who expect to
see it when they come to view
the art. She added that the fires
have led to some positive out-
comes, including the installa-
tion of solar-powered lighting
in the neighborhood and a new
security system to monitor the
art.
The recent string of arsons
is not the first time the Heidel-
berg Project has faced adversity,
Whitfield said. She noted that
the project was partially demol-
ished by the city in 1991 and 1999
amid pending safety concerns,
local
complaints
about
the
crowds of visitors and general
conversation asking whether or
not the project was really “art.”
“Each time the Heidelberg
Project was partially destroyed
it came back stronger,” she said.
“In my mind, what Tyree has
done is he’s just created a new
platform each time on the can-
vas.”
Whitfield said at the time,
these obstacles proved chal-
lenging, but she and Guyton
gained perspective over time.
“With the things that we
went through, it grew us,” she
said. “And so we can come to
a point now and say, ‘that’s all
part of the process. We know
all this negativity is playing a
big part in what we’re doing.’
But how we conclude it is what’s
most important.”
Guyton said visitors have
transformative
experiences,
often influenced by conversa-
tions between visitors attracted
to the site.
“Heidelberg is the realest
place,” Whitfield said. “I think
one of our board members
called it a sacred battleground
that has taken all the scars of
Detroit. It provides that plat-
form that people can discuss
real issues.”
LSA senior Adam DesJar-
dins, who attended the discus-
sion, said he fell in love with the
Heidelberg Project after many
visits — showing friends and
family around and talking to
Tyree at the site.
“(Heidelberg) is just a real-
ly welcoming place, so to see
(Guyton) speak and be recog-
nized was really cool,” he said.
“I think his whole point about
sparking creativity was really
important in terms of find-
ing yourself and how you can
spark other people’s creativity
through your own creativity. I
think that’s something that’s a
takeaway for me because that’s
so much of what (Guyton) does
so well.”
One of the Heidelberg Proj-
ect houses is called the “Dotty
Wotty House,” and Guyton’s
mother currently lives in it. Tay-
lor said there are plans to poten-
tially convert the house into a
museum.
Guyton added that students
from the James & Grace Lee
Boggs School, a local charter
school, may soon begin work
transforming
an
abandoned
house adjacent to the school.
“We’re going to paint stars
all over this house and the stars
are going to be a reflection of
these young people,” Guyton
said. “Every one of those young
people are stars, and my job is
to help them to see that they’re
stars.”
Taylor said two exhibitions
of Guyton’s work are scheduled
to run on campus this year.
The University of Michigan
Museum of Art will run one this
summer and the Department
of Afroamerican and Ameri-
can Studies Gallery will host a
small exhibit on the main floor
of Haven Hall.
3-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, February 23, 2015 — 3A
LANSING
Federal funding for
Michigan roads
reduced by 8 percent
As Michigan readies for a
vote on raising state taxes to
smooth a deteriorating network
of roads and bridges, one reason
is because it’s contending with
the reality that a significant
source of money for the projects
— federal aid — is down.
The Federal Highway Trust
Fund,
which
accounts
for
nearly one-third of the state’s
transportation
budget,
made
about $1 billion available to
Michigan in 2013. That’s 8
percent less than five years
earlier and 15 percent less when
adjusted for inflation, according
to figures compiled by The
Associated Press.
The funding that generally
comes from federal gasoline and
diesel taxes was up 20 percent
over a decade but down 5 percent
in inflation-adjusted dollars.
LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon
Mothers question
vaccine benefits
One is a businesswoman and
an MBA graduate. Another is a
corporate vice president. The
third is a registered nurse.
These three mothers — all
of them educated, middle-class
professionals — are among the
vaccine skeptics who have been
widely ridiculed since more than
100 people fell ill in a measles
outbreak traced to Disneyland.
Critics
question
their
intelligence,
their
parenting,
even their sanity. Some have been
called criminals for foregoing
shots for their children that are
overwhelmingly shown to be
safe and effective.
“Contrary to the common
sentiment, we are not anti-
science,” said Michelle Moore, a
businesswoman who lives in the
affluent Portland suburb of Lake
Oswego with her 2½-year-old
twin girls. “I’m not opposed to
medicine, and I think vaccines
have a place. We think it’s a
medical choice, and it should be
researched carefully.”
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii
Crews free whale
caught in crab line
A crew from the Hawai-
ian Islands Humpback Whale
National Marine Sanctuary on
Saturday used a pole equipped
with a knife to saw the line free,
West Hawaii Today reported.
Several hundred feet of heavy
line used for hoisting crab pots
was cut away, said sanctuary
spokesman Ed Lyman.
Entanglements can result in
drowning, starvation, infections
and increased susceptibility to
ship strikes, according to whale
experts.
The entangled whale was
spotted Feb. 13 off the Big
Island’s Kona Coast by Big Island
helicopter tour companies.
The West Hawaii Marine
Mammal
Response
Network
documented the whale’s condi-
tions and attached a tag allow-
ing the animal to be tracked by
satellite.
GENEVA
Iran responds to
U.S. nuclear talks
A senior Iranian official is
responding sharply to warn-
ings that Washington is ready
to quit nuclear talks unless Teh-
ran agrees to a deal that demon-
strates it does not want atomic
arms.
Ali Akbar Velayati says stay-
ing or leaving “depends on the
Americans.”
Velayati was responding to
U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry, shortly before Kerry’s
arrival Sunday to Geneva. Kerry
said President Barack Obama
was “fully prepared” to pull
the U.S. out before accepting a
deal leaving Tehran with potent
nuclear arms-making ability.
—Compiled from
Daily wire reports
NEWS BRIEFS
faculty, staff and students on the
academic side and on the opera-
tion side and really help shape
where those barriers are and how
we can overcome them,” Berg said.
Andy Berki, manager of the
Office of Campus Sustainabil-
ity, said he appreciated Schlissel’s
interest in sustainability and looks
forward to the recommendations
yielded by the review.
“President Schlissel showed up
on campus and when he arrived
he very quickly demonstrated his
commitment to sustainability and
our efforts on campus,” Berki said.
“I would expect to see some excit-
ing recommendations come out
of the teams in June and I would
think we should hear something
on campus about the direction and
recommendations of these teams
by fall.”
Existing goals have achieved
varying degrees of success. Berki
said one of the more challeng-
ing initiatives has been reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2006, the University emit-
ted approximately 700,000 metric
tons of carbon dioxide, Berki said.
According to a report published by
the OCS, the University emitted
roughly the same amount in 2013.
Berki said the University plans
to invest in a wind turbine project
over the next several years. The
initiative is in the “design phase,”
and she said it could significantly
reduce greenhouse gas emissions
when implemented.
“A large project we’ve been
working on for the last three
or four years is to increase the
amount of turbines at our power
plant,” Berki said. “By doing this
project with the turbines … we
should reduce our overall carbon
emissions by at least 100,000 to
120,000 metric tons. So that will
have a significant effect on moving
our way toward our climate action
goal of 510,000.”
Berki said another challenge
has been reducing waste pro-
duction on campus. In 2006, the
University’s total waste tonnage
totaled about 13,170 tons, and in
2013 it was 13,508 tons.
However,
he
acknowledged
that the University’s continued
expansion has made achieving
these targets more difficult. While
he said the University’s sustain-
ability practices have grown more
efficient on a whole, the increase
in facilities means total tonnage
doesn’t reflect those improve-
ments.
“We’ve gone from about 28.5
million square feet of infrastruc-
ture to about 35.5 million square
feet of infrastructure over that
time,” he said. “So actually, like
a lot of our goals, we’ve kind of
stayed steady but it’s a worthy note
we’ve made some progress even
though the University expanded
significantly.”
Berki said while the University
has developed a robust recycling
program, the next step is to jump-
start a composting initiative.
“One area of our waste stream
which we need to address is the
waste that’s leaving our facilities
that’s compostable,” he said. “Right
now our institution does not have
a University wide composting pro-
gram. Through our analysis we’ve
identified that about 30 percent of
our waste that’s leaving our facili-
ties could be composted.”
Berki said the Student Sustain-
ability Initiative, a collaborative
group of sustainability organiza-
tions on campus, promotes zero-
waste initiatives at the University.
SSI sponsors zero-waste events
where napkins, utensils, plates
and food are all composted.
Other goals have achieved
more success. Berki said emis-
sions from University transpor-
tation operations have decreased
significantly.
In 2006, 1.17 kilograms of car-
bon dioxide were emitted per
ride, according to data reported
by OCS. By 2013, the amount had
decreased to approximately 0.91
kilograms of carbon dioxide emit-
ted per ride. The ultimate goal is
to reduce emissions to 0.82 kilo-
grams per ride.
Berki attributes these accom-
plishments to the University’s
joint bike share program with the
city, the 10 hybrid-electric buses
used on campus and the vanpool
program that allows University
employees to carpool to work in
University-sponsored vans.
Berg said the Planet Blue reus-
able water bottle initiative has
also proved successful. The stu-
dent-led initiative provides all
students living on-campus with
a reusable water bottle and has
worked to establish water bottle-
filling stations across campus.
“If you look around today com-
pared to three years ago I really
just see everyone carrying a reus-
able water bottle and I think
that’s a great way of sustainability
really getting into culture,” Berg
said. “That’s a very visible success
story there.”
LSA junior Nicholas Jansen,
an environmental science major,
wrote in an e-mail interview that
up until this year he was disap-
pointed by the University’s sus-
tainability efforts.
“I think the University up to
this past year has done a sub-par
job to improve sustainability on
campus,” Jansen wrote. “Most of
the sustainability improvements
were applied to just a few build-
ings, we only focused on reduc-
ing our greenhouse gas emissions
instead of trying to get more
renewable energy on campus.”
However, he wrote that Schlis-
sel’s decision to convene the sus-
tainability review committees is a
good sign.
“If the university actually
listens to what these working
groups recommend then I believe
in the next few years, U of M can
become a leader and model for
sustainable campuses,” he wrote.
Berki also said it’s important
that the University lead the nation
in its sustainability efforts.
“As one of the renowned insti-
tutions of higher learning in the
country and in the world, we
need to set an example,” he said.
“We are the leaders and best and
I think a lot of people look to the
University and the institution to
see what we’re doing.”
Berg said the challenge moving
forward would be expanding sus-
tainability efforts without adding
a financial burden to the Univer-
sity’s budgets.
“There’s always a balance
between helping people operate
more sustainability without add-
ing to work loads or to cost,” she
said.
SUSTAINABILITY
From Page 1A
HEIDELBERG
From Page 1A
moment in Black history, but
for American history at large.
During the discussion, Long
recounted his experiences with
racial discrimination during
the 1960s and described the
hate that fueled the church
bombing.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he
said. “I could smell the gun-
powder and I couldn’t believe
that they blew up the church
with people in it. People were
helping others down the stairs,
people were bleeding … it
freaked me out.”
Long said the 16th Street
Bombing and subsequent death
of the four girls was a turning
point in the civil rights move-
ment, even attracting interna-
tional attention — the people
of Wales even fundraised and
designed replacement stained
glass window for the church.
“I think that was one of the
main catalysts that moved this
country forward in terms of
civil rights,” Long said.
LSA freshman Lauren Thom-
as, who attended the event, said
the film gave her perspective
beyond her day-to-day life.
“It is very emotional,” she
said. “It was good to take a
minute outside of classes and
remember that there are real
things happening in the world
or that have happened.”
Charles Senteio, a Ph.D. can-
didate in the School of Informa-
tion who helped organize the
event, said a goal for screening
the film was to connect current
events related to race and dis-
crimination with the past.
Noting that it’s often diffi-
cult to see ties to past injustic-
es, Senteio said it’s important to
revisit history as a method for
preventing similar atrocities in
the future.
“The conversations we’ve
had around this event are to try
to learn from what has taken
place before and absorb some
wisdom,
inspiration,
some
humanity from a road we’ve
already been down before,” he
said.
SCREENING
From Page 1A
letic Department earlier in the
school year to come up with a
plan for lowering football ticket
prices, he spoke with members
of the Athletic Department
about the possibility of special
need-based pricing.
According to Dishell, the
Athletic
Department
repre-
sentatives he spoke with about
need-based
pricing
initially
thought that the plan would
be difficult to implement. But
eventually, in conjunction with
the Office of Financial Aid, a
plan was worked out.
Dishell believes the avail-
ability of need-based pricing is
the first of its kind in collegiate
athletics.
“Michigan
athletics,
it’s
something you see so many
people rally around,” Dishell
said over the phone Sunday
night. “So many people you
meet talk about their experi-
ence with Michigan athletics,
and the prices were very high,
extremely high. I kind of real-
ized, why shouldn’t your aid
package expand? Why should it
not carry over to another Uni-
versity unit?”
The Office of Financial Aid
will begin emailing eligible
students Monday with instruc-
tions detailing how to purchase
tickets.
TICKETS
From Page 1A
INCLUSION
From Page 2A
communities.
“We’re trying to hear as
many different voices as pos-
sible in order to continue to
be able to create such positive
change on campus as we’ve
done in the past,” Pidgeon said.
Charlton has not served
as a member of CSG, but Pid-
geon noted he co-founded the
Wolverine Support Network,
a University-wide peer sup-
port network and one of Make
Michigan’s central initiatives
this year.
“With Cooper at the helm,
given his positions within ath-
letics, we can take on a more
collaborative approach with
the Athletic Department in the
coming year,” Pidgeon said.
In an e-mail interview with
The Michigan Daily, Charlton
wrote taht his position as presi-
dent of SAAC during a time
of change within the Athletic
Department has prepared him
for the CSG presidency.
As president of SAAC, Charl-
ton co-authored a viewpoint
in which the committee criti-
cized
University
President
Mark Schlissel’s comments at
a meeting of the University’s
Senate Advisory Committee
on University Affairs. During
that meeting, Schlissel called
into question the academic
qualifications of some student
athletes. The viewpoint argued
that the perception of student
athletes is easily swayed by the
media and public opinion.
In
the
e-mail
interview,
Charlton also said his expe-
riences
complemented
Hal-
perin’s leadership experiences
on campus.
“My relationships with the
current
members
of
Make
Michigan, and Steven’s experi-
ence within CSG compliment
my Michigan experiences and
perspectives resulting in a
very balanced executive tick-
et,” Charlton wrote. “We both
come from very different back-
grounds however share similar
values.”
Pidgeon
noted
Halperin’s
leadership both inside and out-
side of CSG as the reason he was
selected for the vice presiden-
tial nomination. Halperin is the
vice chair of CSG’s task force
to create a new honor code, an
LSA dean ambassador and the
Interfraternity Council’s vice
president of internal recruiting.
If elected, Halperin said he
wants to expand the Night Owl
bus route, increase lighting
around campus and link CTools
syllabuses with Google calen-
dar. He would also like to focus
on larger campus concerns.
“I have been working very
closely with SAPAC to make a
positive change in the Greek
community
and
plan
on
expanding
across
campus,”
Halperin wrote in an e-mail to
The Michigan Daily.
The U.S. Department of Edu-
cation is currently investigat-
ing the University’s handling of
sexual misconduct allegations
on campus.
As a whole, Make Michigan
organizers and candidates said
they hope to continue working
on student health. Pidgeon said
along with Wolverine Support
Network, Make Michigan has
plans to increase other mental
health services as well.
“We want to build on that
success of keeping students
physically
and
emotionally
safe,” Pidgeon said.
“Through
de-stigmatizing
mental well being on campus
we will be able to accomplish
goals once thought to hard to
reach,” Charlton wrote. “Tra-
dition runs deep through the
academic excellence of our
students, however it is time to
include emotional development
in that tradition.”
The party has not released
an entire platform because
they want to wait until they
receive feedback from constitu-
ents. Make Michigan created
a Google form for students to
submit issues they feel need to
be addressed on campus. The
form is available on their web-
site and on Facebook.
“We can have a platform that
we as a party think the students
want but also what students
really do want,” Pidgeon said.
Last week, The Team, a new
campus party that will also run
candidates in this year’s elec-
tion, announced an executive
ticket headed by LSA junior
William Royster, a member of
the Black Student Union, and
LSA sophomore Matt Fidel, a
current CSG representative.
Polls will open online March
25 and 26.
Check michigandaily.com for
continuing election coverage.
ELECTION
From Page 1A
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